John White
John White was an English artist and the settler of the second Roanoke colony. White visited Roanoke Island for the first time in 1585 and acted as a map maker and artist for the expedition around North Carolina. The sketches produced by White included watercolors of the landscape and of the Native inhabitants. After Sir Walter Raleigh's failed attempt to colonize Roanoke Island, White proposed a second permanent settlement that would include women and children. In 1587, White gathered 115 colonists, including his daughter, Eleanor Dare, to join his new colony, and he also became the official Governor of the Roanoke Colony.
First year at Roanoke
When the group of colonists first arrived on Roanoke Island, their primary goal was to locate the 15 men that were left from the previous Roanoke Colony. Unfortunately, though, the only remnants of these men that were found were their bones. The colonists and John White concluded, after speaking with natives, that these men had either perished from a disagreement with a Native American group, or from starvation. During the colony's first few months in Roanoke, John White attempted to create friendly ties with the natives occupying Roanoke and the islands surrounding it. White successfully established friendly relations with the Croatoans, a peaceful group from a neighboring island, but failed to meet with the other hostile tribes. Tensions between the colonists and the hostile tribes only increased during the colonists' first year and eventually, colonist George Howe was murdered by a native while crab hunting. In the midst of these issues, the birth of the first English baby born in the New World was celebrated. This baby was Virginia Dare, or the granddaughter of John White. Near the end of their first year in Roanoke Island, the colonists were low on supplies and were fearful of their situation with the native inhabitants of the island. Together, they all agreed that John White needed to return to England in order to obtain more supplies and ask for assistance. Although he was reluctant to leave his colony, White knew that obtaining supplies would be the best thing for the colony and left for England. Upon his arrival, England was just entering war with the Spanish Armada and needed every single ship, which delayed White's return to the colony. After three long years, White was finally able to return to his colony, and he was shocked by what he found. The only remnants of the colony was a fence, the letters CRO carved into a tree, and the word CROATOAN scratched into a fence. Every single person and all the houses were completely gone. White was perplexed since he was unable to find any Maltese crosses, a symbol the colonists had agreed to leave if they had been in danger.